These were the first cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin to be natively integrated which means that sellers can now receive their payments in these coins. Buyers can also pay with any of dozens of coins as supported by Shapeshift and both of these features give users even more opportunities for customization and control in this decentralized marketplace.

Bitcoin Cash and Zcash were chosen to integrate first due to their general technical compatibility with OpenBazaar–being similar to Bitcoin–and the availability of shared development support. Additional coin integrations are coming soon!

Want to learn more about coin integrations in OpenBazaar?
Please join us on Slack!

Recent Updates

Recent Updates

Recent Updates

Due to overwhelming response the BCH giveaway promotion is now closed as of 8am CST Saturday, February 10th. We are working through sending payouts for existing submissions so your patience is appreciated!

To celebrate the launch of Bitcoin Cash and Zcash (Beta) integrations on OpenBazaar last week we are doing something fun!

This week we will be giving away $10 in Bitcoin Cash to users who set up a new BCH node on OpenBazaar.

Tweets that do not include ALL FOUR of these items will be considered invalid. Contest runs from 9am CST Wednesday, February 7th until we announce the end on Twitter. Coins will be sent manually so please allow for up to 24 hours for receipt of your coins. One entry per user. Recently created Twitter accounts that appear to be auto-generated or spam will also be disqualified.

Recent Updates

Recent Updates

Recent Updates

Today we are proud to announce Bitcoin Cash and Zcash (Beta) integration in OpenBazaar! With this update users will have the option to create new nodes for processing Bitcoin Cash and Zcash (Beta) payments, respectively.

OpenBazaar already allows buyers to fund their wallets with a variety of cryptocurrencies through Shapeshift, but before this release all transactions were still resolved with Bitcoin. With the rise in Bitcoin network fees in 2017, it became clear that OpenBazaar users needed support for cryptocurrencies with fees that are more suited for small to medium sized transactions ASAP.

This release is the first step towards allowing more options for cryptocurrencies in OpenBazaar. It includes native support for nodes using one cryptocurrency at a time, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, or ZCash.

More currencies and multiple currency support per node are on our roadmap for future releases.

OpenBazaar 2.1 Release Notes

This is a major milestone release, which incorporates support for Bitcoin Cash and ZCash into the OpenBazaar platform.

New Features

Users can now choose BTC, BCH, or ZEC when installing OpenBazaar, and can switch between currencies by creating and using a new server.

Users can now block nodes they no longer want to see content from.
A warning about potential scams that links to an external page about scam prevention was added to the purchase flow.

Improvements

The way the client shuts down the server when closing was improved.

The link to the obsolete docs page was replaced by a link to the main OB website in the right click menu.

The Rawflood search provider is no longer being supported by its creator, it has been removed as a default.

When in search, the search provider call automatically includes the user’s current crypto currency.

Ratings are now shown if they are zero, so it’s more clear if a listing or user has zero ratings.

Electron was updated to v1.7.11.

If a default search provider’s logo doesn’t load, the local version is used instead.

The code for getting the version from package.json was simplified.

Line breaks are now preserved in the order details chat and the order memo.

Search now supports checkboxes in filters.

Moderators now show the crypto currency (currently just one per node) they support, and users cannot add one if they don’t support the same currency the user’s node is set to.

Bug Fixes

Fixed typos.

Fixed an issue with categories.

The name of the store in the note on a transaction is no longer missing from the order details.

The order details avatar no longer gets stuck in a loading state.

Formatting was fixed on the reviews page.

A bug in moderating orders was corrected.

The payment details address in a moderated case is now correct.

The missing shipping method was added to the order details screen.

If an order is disputed, sellers can no longer refund it.

The QR code was fixed for all supported cryptocurrencies.

A bug in the View Listing link was fixed.

Order IDs are no longer incorrectly treated as links in chat.

Internationalization
We are actively translating the text in the OpenBazaar reference client. If you are interested in volunteering as a translator, you can sign up at https://www.transifex.com/ob1/openbazaar

Special Thanks
A special thank you goes out to contributors BillStrait, hegjon and ab10460ef3, the many volunteers that provide translations, and to our testers that discovered important issues.

Recent Updates

45 day auto-release – After 45 days there’s an auto-release to sellers on offline and moderated payments & we’ve made it easier to release these funds. This is in response to times when buyers don’t know that completing their orders is what releases the funds to a seller.

Listing types for cryptocurrencies –

Automatic downloads for digital sales –

Server updates:

The OB1 team is working on ways to make it easier easier for development community members to invest their effort into the OpenBazaar codebase more effectively.

Questions & Discussion:

One attendee offered that he’s been working on a JavaScript library to aide his own development work and OB1 encouraged anyone that is interested in contributing in this way to jump right in without waiting for the core development team to start the activity.

How has OB1 integrated Tor & what was that experience like?

OB1 briefly discussed how OpenBazaar relies on users having their own Tor browser set up. This requires some configuration work on the user’s part on Windows and Mac and further questions were parlayed to OB1’s Lead Backend Developer, Chris, for deeper answers when he returns.

How can users best connect other chains to OB without forking OpenBazaar?

Another attendee has been looking at permissioned hyperledger channels for patient/provider profiles and an Ethereum ERC20 token as a payment method and they wondered about the interoperability of OpenBazaar with other chains.

OpenBazaar is 2 pieces, server & client. The nature of OpenBazaar is that it is not controlled by any one party, which makes restricting what nodes or listings anyone using it interacts with impossible. You would need to create a custom client and/or server that used a 3rd party service that provided a list of allowed content the custom app would be able to see. It’s important to note though that the rest of the OB network would still see that content, and be able to interact with it.

OpenBazaar content is stored using IPFS, they have some new technology they are releasing in the near future that may help with restricting content to certain viewers.

Finally, another attendee is working to gather support for a non-profit type coalition to raise awareness of the economic situation in Venezeuela & get solutions to the people there in the form of Bitcoin. You can read more about his agenda here. At this time the scheduled call resolved but those who were interested continued for almost 45 more minutes to discuss this idea.

Up next:

Due to the increasing demand for participation in this call we are working to choose a more scalable tool to use so that more community members can join. These are the top 5 that we have been recommended. Do you have thoughts on any of these? Please share them in our Slack!

YouTube Live

Zoom

GoToWebinar

Crowdcast.io

Big Blue Button

Recent Updates

Recent Updates

Recent Updates

Since going live in November OpenBazaar has seen almost 25,000 nodes come online and they continue to trend upward each day! We have had an intense & exciting few weeks working on the network and responding to user feedback and we want to share a few things we will be rolling out in January.

Cryptocurrency integrations

Shortly after launch Bitcoin fees significantly increased, making buying and selling everyday items and services difficult on OpenBazaar. To present more options to users so that they can avoid Bitcoin fees, we are working quickly to integrate the coins Bitcoin Cash, Zcash and Litecoin.

Testing for BCH and Zcash has begun and we’re at the beginning stages of exploring how Litecoin integration would work.

Transactions bug fix

There have been reports of order messages not being received so in the new builds we’ve increased the amount of log data to help the reporting users track down the problem.

Releases 2.0.20 and 2.0.21 fix bugs relating to the exchange rate API implementation that was causing problems in the purchase flow.

Scam mitigation

OpenBazaar is an ecommerce platform that imposes no marketplace fees, no data collection, and no censorship; there is no middleman involved at all who can tell users what they can and can’t do on the network. This means exciting new freedom but but we are also aware that not everyone will always operate in the best interest of their fellow humans. We’ve seen an increase in scammers and we are working hard to add tools to make it easier to identify who is likely to be a trustworthy user on the network, specifically moderators, and we have are doing two things to help minimize the impact of actions like these.

The first is user education, trying to help users fully understand the qualities of a fully decentralized ecommerce network and the risks of using unknown moderators along with other unsafe behaviors.

The second is working on a verified moderators program that will help users select trusted moderators to avoid scams. These changes should be available in January.

Time delays in transactions & refunds posting

We’ve been asked by some users why their transactions and refunds are being delayed. This is likely due to the Bitcoin network fees again and transaction backlog on the Bitcoin network. Transactions and refunds can take up to several days to post in some cases right now and most users do notice them posting after some time has passed. Make sure the fee being paid is less than the transactions amount itself, otherwise the transaction cannot be completed.

Thank You

We want to to thank you for being a part of this community and for your patience with these challenges that have arisen in the 6 weeks since launch. The continued use and exploration of OpenBazaar even despite high fees and transaction difficulties show that so many of you are very, very dedicated to making a free, decentralized marketplace work for you. The great feedback that you have given us is helping us to make informed choices about what is most important to OpenBazaar users and we are working hard to define and develop this whole new paradigm of empowered ecommerce with you.

Have thoughts to share or just want to learn more?Please join us in our discussion communities here!

Recent Updates

Recent Updates

Recent Updates

This article is a high level overview of the OpenBazaar token (OBT). The token will be used as inputs for OBT smart contracts, executed on Ethereum, to embed data pointers for content hosted on the OpenBazaar network.

Using this framework, OBT will be used by curators to monetise ‘channels’ (curated lists of content) by accepting tokens for premium ad-spaces. Moreover, OBT can be used to create decentralised channels that use market auction forces to arrange content, for which the OpenBazaar channel will be the first of its kind.

The token adds value to the OpenBazaar protocol without acting as a gatekeeper to the protocol, or threatening its stability. Ethereum contracts using the token are also independent of the token itself, enabling the system to be flexible to additional features and bug fixes.

The smart contracts that are powered by OBT add a layer of utility and value to the network.

The creation of a decentralised ad-spaces allows enhanced discovery of goods and services independent of the success or failure of OB1 and other companies built on top of OpenBazaar.

1. Discovery and Search

Decentralised networks tend to have a ‘discovery’ problem, whereby data in the network is either: a) distributed so well it is difficult for a user to crawl and parse, or b) redundantly shared in its entirety between peers, causing storage and maintenance costs to soar as the network scales.

OpenBazaar is no different. The sheer number of listings, images, and soon social content, published by nodes on the network already exceeds the capability of a typical user to find and process. As a result, third party services for search and discovery are required for the marketplace to thrive. In addition, user-driven curation is a powerful model to drive attention and sales to sellers. Incentivising this is the purpose of the OpenBazaar token.

1. OpenBazaar Tokens

OpenBazaar tokens (OBT) will be created on the Ethereum network. The token itself will have a fixed total supply. OBT can be transferred between accounts, or used as inputs for the execution of OBT smart contracts. OBT smart contracts require OBT to change the state of the contract to embed data into the Ethereum blockchain in the form of OpenBazaar-IPFS content addresses. These content addresses are essentially pointers to data hosted by peers on the OpenBazaar network.

Each OpenBazaar node monitors OBT smart contracts for state changes corresponding to new content addresses, which are used to retrieve data from the OpenBazaar network and displayed for the user in the OpenBazaar client.

Using this framework, the following primary utilities of the token, described below, can be supported.

Figure 1. Channels. With channels, any user or group can curate listings, stores, social posts, and even other channels.

1.2 Channels

A ‘channel’ is a data structure (JSON) that arranges OpenBazaar content (i.e. listings, images, stores, social content etc) into user-defined collections. This user-curated list of content, i.e. the channel data, is parsed and rendered in the client to enhance search and discovery of goods and services. Any individual or group can create a channel for any subject or theme, which users on the network can subscribe to (Figure 1). By keeping a channel updated with freshly curated content, the channel author can enhance the discovery of valuable content, goods, and services on the network that can simultaneously drive attention and sales.

To monetise a channel, an OpenBazaar smart contract can be deployed on the Ethereum network to auction off, in OBT, premium content positions within a channel. Advertisers can target popular channels to purchase ad space, paying the channel author in OBT.

Figure 2. Alice creates a listing. The listing has a content address (Address D) that allows anyone on the OpenBazaar P2P network to find the listing and download it. The content address maps to a JSON file, which is the Ricardian contract containing the good or service for sale.

1.3 Decentralising a Channel with OBT

While advertising spaces in a channel can monetise curation by an individual channel author, this model can be extended to create a decentralised channel. To explain how, we will examine the OpenBazaar channel as an example.

By default, the desktop and OB1 mobile apps will be subscribed to the OpenBazaar channel. As the default channel, it will have a strong position as the regular entry point for discovering new and interesting things for sale in OpenBazaar.

Figure 3. Alice embeds the listing’s content address (Address D) into the Ethereum blockchain. Alice purchases a state change in an OpenBazaar smart contract using OBT tokens. The transaction results in ‘Address D’ being embedded into the Ethereum blockchain.

Similar to ENS registration, an Ethereum contract will be used to execute a Vickrey auction every 12–24 hours for content spaces in the OpenBazaar channel. With a Vickrey auction, bids are anonymous with the winning bidder paying the second highest bid-value in OBT. As there are several content spaces, the top n bids will fill these spaces in order, locking up the n-1 OBT bid value.

For a user to bid for a space on the OpenBazaar channel, they first create the listing they wish to advertise and publish it to the OpenBazaar network to obtain a content address (Figure 2). Next, the user participates in Vickrey auction to embed their listing address into the state of the contract.

This <em”>address is stored in the Ethereum blockchain, while the content itself is distributed in the OpenBazaar network. The OpenBazaar server-node monitors the Ethereum blockchain for the latest channel content, stored in the OBT contract, and fetches the data corresponding to the addresses from the OpenBazaar network.</em”>

When the user navigates to the OpenBazaar channel, they will view the ‘premium’ content from the Vickrey auction’s winning bids.

In the case of the OpenBazaar channel, OBT from the winning bids will be sent to the OpenBazaar Foundation, a nonprofit entity tasked with maintaining and expanding the OpenBazaar protocol. These tokens will be used to fund operations and/or recycled back into the ecosystem.

For other decentralised channels, the OBT can be burned or saved. In the case of the latter, a governance mechanism is required to manage saved OBT between the smart contract owners. More details on this will be provided at a later date.

The Ethereum contract to support the Vickrey auction for the OpenBazaar channel can be deployed by other channel developers or communities. This would allow other decentralised channels to be maintained and funded by OBT.

Aside from increasing demand and adding value to OBT investors, it will also support a more robust mechanism for discovery on the network. However, as these channels would not necessarily be included by default in the reference desktop client or OB1 mobile app, users will need to actively find and subscribe to these channels.

Figure 4. Alice’s content is discovered by other nodes monitoring OBT contracts in Ethereum. OpenBazaar nodes monitor state changes in the OBT contract, in the Ethereum blockchain, to discover new content. The content itself is distributed across the OpenBazaar network.

1.4 Search: OpenBazaar Ad Network

A more experimental proposal is to support a decentralized advertising network using OBT. OBT can be spent to associate certain words to an OB-IPFS address for a listing. When OpenBazaar users search for goods or services using these keywords, listings with the highest OBT spend appear at the top of the search results as ‘premium’ listings. While not a complete solution to the challenges of decentralised search, OBT enables Vendors to advertise their content in response to specific search terms.

2. Platform Flexibility

The role of the token in the protocol is flexible and capable of evolving as improvements are made. The reason is that the OBT token is used as a money substitute for executing specific Ethereum smart contracts, which the OpenBazaar node monitors on the Ethereum blockchain.

This means that if there is a critical security flaw uncovered in the Vickrey auction contract, for example, the contract can be retired or replaced without threatening the viability of all OBT tokens. All that is required is an update to the OpenBazaar server to monitor a patched contract after block X, and OBT will be spent on this new contract.

This same mechanism can be used to iterate over existing contracts with new features. As the OpenBazaar protocol matures, the server can also monitor new contracts funded by OBT, which client developers can support.

3. Challenges

We have identified the following challenges with this token model below.

3.1 Abuse

Economically irrational actors (trolls, hackers, spammers) or ‘whales’ (individuals or organisations with a lot of Eth) could monopolise the OpenBazaar channel or ad-word auctions to flood the channel with spam, illegal, or abusive content.

This challenge is mitigated indirectly as there is a financial cost to this behaviour, and a sustained attack would be expensive. For a more direct approach, this can be achieved a number of ways. The channel author(s) who deploys a smart contract to receive ad-sponsorship can have ‘veto power’ over any of the content spaces, or flag content as NSFW. Client developers could also actively filter content from the OpenBazaar channel, or ad-word listings, on an opt-in basis.

Moreover, it is likely that third parties will serve the OpenBazaar channel and ad-word data to users, as the requirements to run an Ethereum node may be too much for individual users. These third parties can filter the data according to their own requirements. If users are unhappy with the degree of filtering, they can switch between service providers or run an Ethereum full node for themselves for a completely decentralised experience.

3.2 Forked Client Opt-Out

Forked client implementations of OpenBazaar can effectively ignore the OBT-enabled channels and adwords, or adopt unfair/aggressive filtering of listings. It is up to the users to make an informed choice when selecting an OpenBazaar client.

3.3 Upgrading

The process of upgrading from one Ethereum contract to another requires OpenBazaar nodes to upgrade promptly. Non-upgraded nodes will continue to monitor old contracts until upgrade. Similarly, OBT may continue to be spent on old contracts for non-upgraded nodes. While this benefits OBT investors, it is less effective for Vendors advertising their goods and services.

The OpenBazaar protocol was designed to be censorship-resistant from the beginning, and doesn’t require a protocol token (other than money) to function. We view this as a feature not a bug, as the core functions of OpenBazaar protocol (i.e. buying and selling) carries-on independent of the token.

Therefore, we strongly believe that the purpose of the token is to add value to the OpenBazaar network, and help catalyse adoption. It is for this reason that these smart contracts require OBT instead of Ethereum, as we are able to distribute free tokens to contributors and early adopters (sellers, buyers, moderators) of the protocol, and run an incentive engine through the OpenBazaar Foundation to promote adoption.

The framework we propose in this article uses smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain to coordinate and incentivise the discovery of content on the OpenBazaar network. The first implementation of this framework, the creation of a decentralised ad-space and adwords, adds value to OpenBazaar by enhancing the search and discovery of goods services that is:

Decentralised and censorship-resistant

Independent of the success or failure of OB1, or other companies built on top of OpenBazaar

It is a complementary feature to third party search and discovery tools that is run by token holders (i.e. the community).

Objection #2: Tokens are a new and unproven model

This is still true, but if there is a way that a token can add utility to the protocol and value for the community, in a decentralised manner, it should be explored. If OBT is successful, it will add value to the OpenBazaar protocol in conjunction with third party search and discovery tools.

Also the token itself is somewhat independent from the contracts used to deliver content to channels and adwords. These contracts can be retired or replaced without threatening the total stock of OBT or the protocol. Thus the utility of OBT can evolve with the protocol, and pivot to new or better models in the future.

Objection #3: A token could increase the barriers to entry

The functions of an OpenBazaar token should not be a gatekeeper to using the protocol. Here, OBT (and the gas required to make changes in the smart contract) is used to enhance the search and discovery of goods and services in a decentralised manner. However, OBT is not required to search and discover listings via third parties, or any of the core functions of the protocol (i.e. buying, selling, chat, ratings etc).

A key quote from the investor bulletin was the issue of whether tokens fit the definition of a ‘security’:

Depending on the facts and circumstances of each individual ICO, the virtual coins or tokens that are offered or sold may be securities. If they are securities, the offer and sale of these virtual coins or tokens in an ICO are subject to the federal securities laws.

Under Section 2(a)(1) of the Securities Act and Section 3(a)(10) of the Exchange Act, a security includes “an investment contract.” See 15 U.S.C. §§ 77b-77c. An investment contract is an investment of money in a common enterprise with a reasonable expectation of profits to be derived from the entrepreneurial or managerial efforts of others.

While we are not lawyers or giving financial advice, in our opinion it is reasonable to conclude OBT is not a security according to this definition. Furthermore, platforms such as Coinlist now exist to facilitate regulatory compliant token sales to accredited investors. However, even if government agencies issued strict regulatory guidelines, it would fail to disrupt the core functions of OpenBazaar, which the token is not required for.

The token sale would be an opportunity to distribute tokens to users of OpenBazaar who believe in decentralisation and free trade and are not solely focused on speculation. It is essential that a portion of OBT is distributed to existing users, and incentivise new and existing ecommerce Vendors to extend their footprint into OpenBazaar. The utility of OBT primarily serves Vendors who wish to advertise their goods and services on the network, in a decentralised manner. While speculators will undoubtedly be interested in profiting off the token, the fundamental utility of token is unambiguous.

The token would not increase the barriers to entry into the OpenBazaar network. As mentioned earlier, the ability to use the protocol is unaffected by the existence of the token. Vendors can also advertise their goods and services via centralised channels and third party search engines.

Given that the token model described here doesn’t appear to be a security, and has concrete utility to help Vendors sell their goods and services, we feel that OBT will be viewed favourably within the emerging regulatory guidelines. If burdensome regulations are imposed on tokens in a local jurisdiction, the OpenBazaar protocol itself is unaffected by the difficulties in obtaining tokens by those users. Moreover, token holders that are not affected by these regulations are minimally impacted.

6. Conclusion

As a project, we are excited by this next chapter and the value we aim to create within the OpenBazaar ecosystem. We encourage you to reach out to us to give us your feedback and ideas in the coming months as we refine the utilities of the token.

Get Connected

Stay up to date with token developments in the OpenBazaar communities on Slack, Telegram and Discord